In first lawsuit against Biden administration, Texas AG challenges deportation freeze
AUSTIN, Texas — Following through on his promise to sue the Biden administration early and often, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Friday asked a federal judge to block a new policy that pauses most deportations for the next 100 days.
The policy, which went into effect Friday, was announced by acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary David Pekoske as part of a comprehensive review of immigration enforcement, particularly amid the challenges posed by COVID-19.
The pause, Pekoske said in a Wednesday memo to immigration officials, will let the agency focus resources on its most pressing needs, in particular at the busy southern border “in the midst of the most serious global public health crisis in a century.”
But Paxton said the pause violates federal law, the U.S. Constitution and an agreement between Texas and the homeland security agency — signed in the closing days of the Trump administration — that requires federal officials to consult their state counterparts before changing immigration policy.
The new policy also carries a safety risk, he said.
“Our state defends the largest section of the southern border in the nation. Failure to properly enforce the law will directly and immediately endanger our citizens and law enforcement personnel,” Paxton said in a statement announcing his first lawsuit against President Joe Biden’s policies.
Paxton asked U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton, a nominee of former President Donald Trump who took the bench in Corpus Christi last June, to issue a temporary restraining order that would immediately halt the deportation freeze for those in the United States illegally.
Pekoske’s memo excluded noncitizens who are suspected of terrorism or espionage or are found to pose a security threat. The freeze also doesn’t apply to those who voluntarily waive the right to remain in the United States.
“Nothing in this memorandum prohibits the apprehension or detention of individuals unlawfully in the United States,” he added.
Biden was in office for only a few hours when Paxton vowed Wednesday to use the court system to challenge policies from a Democratic president who has vowed to overturn a raft of Trump-era priorities.
“I promise my fellow Texans and Americans that I will fight against the many unconstitutional and illegal actions that the new administration will take, challenge federal overreach that infringes on Texans’ rights, and serve as a major check against the administration’s lawlessness,” Paxton announced.
Friday’s lawsuit returns Paxton, a conservative Republican, to his role as a leading legal opponent of Democrats in the White House. His office filed 27 lawsuits seeking to kill or block policies initiated by then-President Barack Obama.
While Trump was in office, Paxton filed lawsuits and legal briefs to support his fellow Republican’s priorities, including a ban on travelers from several Muslim-majority countries, a policy that Biden reversed Wednesday.
Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, called Paxton’s challenge a waste of taxpayer money in a bid to score political points.